When you are a gearhead, people you meet often tell you about cool cars that they once owned, or once saw. If you are really lucky, they still own those cool cars, and they want to show them off. The other day when I was writing that blog about that hidden 1964 Corvette Convertible with the factory fuel injection, I realized that I actually know about a 1963 split window Corvette too! Much like every cool car though, it comes with a story. Read More
This short story of mine has been many years in the making, and yesterday was a major unexpected turning point. You see, years ago I heard a rumor of a mid year Corvette (1963-67) sitting all apart in a garage. I was told that this Corvette had entered the garage for a restoration around 1980 and never came back out again. Naturally when you hear about this sort of thing, you imagine that it could be the “holy grail” of car finds, but when reality enters the scene, you find a derelict shell of a 1970’s Yugo. Yeap, been there before.
Up until yesterday, this story consisted of me begging, then me pleading, and then sadness, followed by extended periods of time. May 10th then arrived and as if by magic, I finally got just a tiny taste of what this car really was. I opened the first image and stared at it in amazement. Instead of the 1970’s Yugo shell that always sneaks up on me, I was staring at an absolutely beautiful Silver Blue 1964 Chevy Corvette Convertible with the L84 Fuel Injected 375 horsepower 327 engine. Inside my head, my brain was screaming “Cannot Compute! System Malfunction! Meltdown Imminent”. I slapped myself in the face, started breathing again, and welcomed back my surroundings. The next two pictures were equally mesmerizing. This was definitely a very, very special car.
Just how rare is this car you ask? Well, let’s take a look at the production numbers for the minimal facts that we do know.
1964 Corvettes
Total Convertibles – 13,925 produced
Total with Silver Blue paint – 3,121 produced
Total L84 Fuel Injected 327’s – 1,325 produced
Now, we know that at the very “worst”, it is 1 of 1,325 built, which is crazy rare as is. But how many of that total were in convertibles vs. coupes? I would imagine that we can assume half? (Corvette gurus, feel free to jump in anytime.) Okay, so let’s say that the car is now about 1 of 650 convertibles with the L84 fuel injected 327 produced. But wait, out of 22,205 Corvettes made in 1964, only about 14% were painted Silver Blue and that was included coupes and convertible. For the sake of fun, let’s just assume that the color was split evenly across both body types. We can then assume the car is about 1 of 300 built based on what we currently know. Now, how many of those still exist? Not all of them, that’s for sure.
Great, now where do we go from here? Well, I have been sworn to secrecy and I don’t have any more pictures or information. My hope is that it will someday be finished because I would absolutely love to hear that this Silver Blue convertible is back on the road again.
*Special thanks to the “Top Secret Informant” for sharing these pictures with us.
Last weekend Formula D was making noise in Atlanta Georgia. A friend of mine named Ethan drove several hours to attend this event and luckily for us, he took about 1 million pictures while he was there. From the looks of it, swapping new LSx V8’s into the small rear wheel drive imports seems to be a growing trend. If you have ever had the pleasure of burying your foot into the go-pedal of a newer Corvette, you can understand why. The sounds coming from these vehicles drifting around the track must have been music to the ears. I really need to get myself to one of these events….
Anyway > Here are 41 of my favorites pictures: Read More
John D’Agostino has built so many beautiful Kustom Kars that it is nearly impossible to pick a favorite. Most of them wear his unmistakable candy blended paint, and seemingly impossible smoothness. You can stare at his cars for hours wondering what exactly he has changed with each one, but it is nearly impossible to detect. In my mind, that is what separates the good customs from from great customs. When he completes a car, the car is no longer just a car, it really become a rolling work of art.
This 1941 Packard, known as “Gable”, is one of my favorites because….. well … look at it. If this Packard were to be parked next to a new Ferrari and Bugatti, the Ferrari would immediately burst into flames, and the Bugatti would drive itself into a lake. They would both feel too inadequate parked next to such burgundy brilliance. This Packard has the perfect stance, flawless paint that is as rich as rich gets, and nearly undetectable customization. There is just no denying it, I would look good in this car.
These beautiful images were taken by Childers Photography. More can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredsredt/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredsredt/5168454608/in/photostream/
The image above has absolutely nothing to do with this blog post, but the car deserves some credit for surviving as long as it has against all odds. Seriously, when was the last time you saw one of these?
Anyway – over the last week, I have been doing a little gas mileage experiment, because I am trying to figure out how to beat the whole “buying expensive gas” thing in true gearhead fashion. I will elaborate more on this and potential further experiments in the days ahead. In the meantime, I would love to know what all of you are doing to stretch your mileage (If anything)? I also set up a poll this morning to see where we currently stand.
It’s Friday, so let’s celebrate with some victory burnouts straight from Australia!!
Can’t see the video? Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-tU9EBPWug
“Rat Rod’s” have been the new cool thing to build for a few years now. They are a great part of the automotive community in my opinion because they are cheap, simple, and quick to build. Most have V8’s, and zero excess weight which means they fry the tires just fine. Some of them even stop! The vast majority of these often derelict-looking vehicles would likely not be back on the road otherwise, so assuming they are safe for the road, how can you not love them? They are cheap, fast, and with the right drivetrain – reliable. Could it really be possible that “Rat Rods” have beaten the old automotive saying of “Cheap, Fast, Reliable – Pick Two” ?
*Notice that I put “Rat Rod” in quotes. That is because some Hot Rodders find that terminology offensive for some reason. I can’t understand it because I have just as much respect for “Rats” as I do an unfinished Hot Rods or 100 point restorations. When you pour your heart and soul into a vehicle, it shows, whether it is waxable or not. For those of you that do find the “Rat” terminology offensive, just pretend I said “Hot Rod”. 😉